Raising the $3.35 Minimum

Many see it as "chump change"

They are dirty jobs, but someone has to do them: messenger, storeroom clerk, cook in a fast-food restaurant. The work requires few skills, pays little and offers almost no chance for advancement. Minimum-wage jobs. In the 1980s earning a living at minimal pay is more difficult than ever. During the inflationary spiral of the late '70s, the minimum wage was increased almost yearly, but since Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, the standard has been frozen at $3.35 an hour. Not since World War II has it gone unchanged for so long.